Miniseries

A miniseries is a television production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes.

The format dates back to at least a 1966 ABC broadcast of an adaptation of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. The term became well-established in the early 1970s. Alex Haley's Roots in 1976 was the first blockbuster success of the format. Its success in the USA was due to its schedule: the twelve hours were split into eight episodes broadcast on consecutive nights, resulting in a finale with a 71 percent share of the audience and 130 million viewers.

Primary source: A USC retrospective on the career of producer David L. Wolper.